The best new compact hardware effect processors of 2014

Future Music gear of the year: hands-on FX tweaking has never been so much fun

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Waldorf 2-Pole

Plugin effects may rule the roost these days, but you can’t beat a bit of hands-on sound mangling madness. Here are the new boxes that have found their way into our studios and live rigs this year, starting with a Waldorf's dirty little 2-Pole filter.

Eventide H9 Core

Eventide’s ‘all-rounder’ effects pedal bundles a wealth of the company’s excellent processors into a single box with a convenient one-knob interface. The free desktop/iOS editor app makes this a great tool for studio use, too.

A killer option if you want a single box for all your effects processing needs.

Pioneer RMX-500

Like its bigger sibling, the RMX-1000, Pioneer’s latest DJ-focused Remix Station effects processor is a great source of ‘on-the-fly’ rhythmic sound-mangling. It’s very intuitive and a whole lot of fun to boot.

Roland VT-3

The esoteric underdog of Roland’s Aira range, the VT-3 is nonetheless an impressive and unique effects unit in its own right.

Firmware updates have rectified our handful of original misgivings about the machine and, with Auto-Pitch, Vocoder and a whole host of glitch effects onboard, the VT-3 has shaped up to be an awesome vocal mangler.